Carrot Cake Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

Spring means more sunny days just around the corner, gorgeous delicate blossoms blooming all around us and carrot cake of course! It’s definitely my highlight of spring because every year around Easter I always make this Carrot Cake or these cupcakes it at least once (oh and now I’ve got this Carrot Cake Cheesecake to add to that, two of the worlds best kind of cakes in one). Carrot cake is definitely one of my favorites. I love all the sweet spices and how incredibly moist the cake is from the carrots, and of course I can’t get enough of the cream cheese frosting.

I might be slightly obsessed because I did already post a carrot cake cookie last year, but they were made with oats and nuts mixed into the batter and they were made into sandwich cookies. So, I wanted to switch things up a bit this time around and make them more similar to the texture of carrot cake without any oats (don’t get me wrong those cookies are delicious too, I just mostly wanted an excuse to make something carrot cake again :).

Everyone in my family loved these cookies, kids included. Carrot cake may get a bad wrap by some because it’s made with a veggie, but with a fair amount of sugar does it even matter? Yes, it’s like turning a healthy, nutritious thing into candy but don’t we all need that every once in a while? I definitely think so! Especially when the end result are these delicious, cake-like Carrot Cake Cookies!

Instructions

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, blend together butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until creamy. Blend in egg and vanilla extract. With mixer set on low speed, add half of the flour mixture and mix just until combined, then mix in carrots, then mix in remaining 1/2 of the flour mixture just until combined. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl with a spatula to make sure everything is properly incorporated.

Scoop dough out with a medium 1 1/2 Tbsp cookie scoop and drop onto baking sheets lined with silicone liners, spacing cookies 2-inches apart. Bake in preheated oven until set (they should still be soft to the touch though), about 11 - 12 minutes. Cool on baking sheet several minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool. After 5 - 10 minutes of cooling on rack finish cooling completely in an airtight container so they don't dry. Once cool, frost with cream cheese frosting and top with pecans if desired.

For the frosting:

In a mixing bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, whip together butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Mix in vanilla and powdered sugar and whip again until light and fluffy (if slightly runny chill in freezer about 5 minutes then mix one last time). If doing the carrot decoration set aside about 2 Tbsp to ting green and 2 Tbsp to tint orange (I used a Wilton #2 tip for the green and #4 for the orange).

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21 comments

OMG I want these! I just made a carrot bread for a post coming up and I’ve made carrot cake cookies in the past, but never with icing, and never this cute! You make the prettiest food :) March 6, 2015 at 5:53pmReply

Jaclyn: Thanks so much Averie :)! As do you! March 7, 2015 at 8:24pmReply

Erin @ Miss Scrambled Egg: Holy moly! These cookies look like the bomb. Being born in April means carrot cake as birthday cake. It’s always been my favorite choice. I love the cookie version that you’ve created! Bring on the spring weather. March 7, 2015 at 5:51amReply

Paul: They sound so nice and such lovely decoration as well March 7, 2015 at 7:00amReply

Elena @ GiftaholicWorld: OMG, these are so cute. Can’t help myself keep rolling up and down and try to find a way to stole these lovely tiny carrot cookies. March 16, 2015 at 10:03amReply

Karen: These look great! What do you recommend for storing? I want to make them today to bring to a party tomorrow. Do they need to be refrigerated due to the cream cheese frosting? I don’t want them to dry out!
Thanks! April 3, 2015 at 5:53amReply

Jaclyn: I’d recommend storing them in the fridge in an airtight container. As long as they are in a sealed container they’ll be fine, then just let them rest at room temp a bit before serving. April 4, 2015 at 3:12pmReply

Nina: I just made these yesterday for a party at work today, and they… are… AMAZING! Definitely making them again soon! :) Thank you for the recipe! October 9, 2015 at 9:58amReply

Jaclyn: I’m so glad you liked them Nina :)! October 9, 2015 at 10:42amReply

Brooke: I’m late to see this recipe but was so excited when I found it. I made these around 5pm yesterday and took to work at 2pm today. Everyone asked if I added zuchinni. I broke one apart and there it little green peice the size of what my carrots were. Is it possible the carrots turned color? All the carrots around the outside are still orange. April 3, 2017 at 2:15pmReply

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